Newsletter November 27th 2022 (First Sunday of Advent)

A thought as we begin our Advent journey …

· Let’s imagine ourselves in that stable on the first Christmas night. See there a girl from Nazareth with her quiet husband and a new baby. Then go up to Jerusalem and tell the priests what you saw. Say that helpless, new-born baby is the Anointed One, the long awaited Messiah, the Son of God. They would think you were out of your mind; they would accuse you of blasphemy; they would tell you that God is not like that. They have studied the scriptures and they know God cannot be small and           vulnerable like that. But the Son of God has chosen to come among us just like that.

· That is the great, joyful surprise of our faith. The presence of God among us is not what we expect, not where we expect. That’s how we miss it.

· As we begin Advent, we are invited not to miss the amazing gift of God. Be awake and look for God in the most unlikely places. Find God’s call to our goodwill in the doorway where the homeless sleep. Look for God’s presence where refugees are   corralled. Grace is present not only in comfortable places and spaces! God is    looking out from the wrinkled faces of senior citizens.

· It’s great to be alive and wide-eyed like a child, at the beginning of our new year of grace.

· We can welcome this time of Advent with a heartfelt céad míle fáilte.